Representatives from across Canada's grain sector are in Ottawa today for the launch of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops. The group will serve as a forum for "advancing, reporting on and communicating the sustainability of Canadian grain production." "Increasingly, our customers are factoring in environmental and social considerations when sourcing products," said Chantelle Donahue,... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Need an excuse to take a trip to a warmer place this winter? Can it be justified as a field trip for the farm? Cold temperatures might be a good enough reason to head south, and maybe it’s easy for him to say because he’s newly retired, but the former CEO of the Canadian International... Read More
Canada's two major railways have changed they way they process requests for grain cars in Western Canada. To deter shippers from ordering more cars than they can handle, both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific are capping the number of outstanding orders a grain shipper can have in their systems. As of September 14th, the total... Read More
Western Canadian farmers know all too well what kind of impact the logistical challenges of the last year had on local grain prices, but how did the rail backlog impact international customers? How concerned are they about the reliability of Canadian grain shipments? To get a feel for what overseas buyers are saying, I spoke... Read More
SaskCanola has announced Janice Tranberg will serve as the group's new executive director, effective January 5, 2015. Tranberg most recently served as an assistant deputy minister for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, and was responsible for three branches: Crops and Irrigation, Agriculture Research, and Regional Services. Prior to this, Janice served as the vice president... Read More
Calving seasons should be 63 days (3, 21-day cycles), with at least 60% of the calves born in the first 21 days, according to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. This helps calving cows stay on track, increases the size of calves at weaning (by up to 100 pounds from 1st to 3rd cycle) and improves... Read More
By Larry Martin and Derek Albrecht After months of steady decline, Chicago grain futures recently rallied to meet or exceed USDA forecasts in its November grain report. USDA forecast carryover of soybeans at the end of the 2014/15 crop year at 12.5 per cent of use, with a price forecast at around $10. This compares... Read More
Is your farm in the realty business? Equity on most Canadian farms is generated in two ways — selling the proceeds from production and by owning property with increasing value. Speaking at the Agricultural Excellence Conference in Winnipeg last week, the head of Canada’s largest farmland investment company argued there are situations where farmers would... Read More
Dairy Farmers of Canada has announced the appointment of Caroline Emond as the agency's new executive director. Emond is a lawyer and lobbyist with over 20 years of experience in political and trade files in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. She worked for DFC from 1998 to 2006 as Assistant Director, International Trade and as... Read More
This editorial is a joint effort of Cam Dahl, President of Cereals Canada, JoAnne Buth, CEO of the Canadian International Grains Institute and Elwin Hermanson, Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission. There is a new Team Canada hitting the world stage. We have two primary goals: first, we aim to promote the qualities of... Read More